Posted By cmbuuck on November 7, 2013

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, that you and your descendents might live!” . . . Deuteronomy 30:19

 

 

Mother Pre-Pays $1,575 for 21-Week Abortion, Pro-Life Prayer Warriors Change Her Mind

by Steven Ertelt | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com

Late-term abortion received a fair amount of US media attention earlier this year — coverage centered around the brutal practices and murder trial of Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell.

Gosnell was convicted of murder. But the ugly practice of late-term abortion continues. And one Texas mom is very thankful for the volunteers who were outside praying when she recently went in for her $1,575 late-term abortion.

Praise God for happy endings like this one.

The 40 Days for Life team in Dallas reported hopeful news from their vigil.

Counselors talked to a woman at the abortion center who was 21 weeks pregnant. On her way out of the building, she told the volunteers, “Your prayers saved my baby. I saw you all praying and it touched my heart.”

A bit later, she came back to pick up her $1,575 refund – the cost of an abortion at 21 weeks.

Earlier that day, another woman had arrived for an abortion. But after being inside the abortion center for a while — and basically ignored by the staff — she left and spoke to prayer volunteers.

She said the employees left her in a room, alone. She told one staff member she was sick, but no one came to help. So she just walked out.

Volunteers gave her information about the pro-life pregnancy center. She didn’t go there right away, as was hoped, but she did leave without having an abortion.

 

Pro-Lifers Seize Momentum

by Heather Gims / Life Issues Connector

States have taken the lead on forging new pro-life legislation. More pro-life laws have been passed and enacted in the past two years than any other time period since Roe v. Wade. In fact, it’s projected that 2013 is on pace to be a record-breaking year. Pro-life legislation is working. For example, the state of Nebraska reported that abortion rates fell to a 20-year low as pro-life laws took effect. Many of the laws are ensuring abortion facilities meet basic clinical standards. Others have required abortionists to have privileges at local hospitals. These are measures that simply ensure quality of care, yet they are met with objections by pro-aborts. The truth is being exposed- many of these abortion facilities would rather close than take the precautions necessary to ensure their practice meets the basic health standards.

Only four countries in the world permit abortions after 20 weeks- Canada, China, North Korea and the United States. In an effort to protect these unborn children, a bill was introduced in congress called the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. While the measure passed in the House, it’s been impeded by the Senate and would face certain veto from President Obama.

This piece of legislation was based upon the scientifically proven evidence that babies at that stage of development experience pain. (Although, research indicates babies can actually feel pain far earlier than 5 months.) Unwilling to face the facts, abortion proponents deny the research and call it “insufficient evidence.” The “pro-choice” position is not on the side of science and as a result, their base is weakening.

Planned Parenthood has closed 24 facilities in 2013. Only 6 of the closures represent facilities that do medical or surgical abortions, which means Planned Parenthood is consolidating its business. Instead of growing the number of facilities, efforts are now focused on building mega-abortion complexes to be more efficient and cost-effective. Nationwide, an estimated 42 abortion facilities have closed in 2013. This is the result of legislation, funding costs, decline of business and a lack of doctors willing to do abortions. With our continued due diligence, these closures will mean the lives of women and babies are being saved.

Let’s recognize the momentum that we have and continue to seize the opportunities on the horizon.

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Posted By cmbuuck on November 7, 2013

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, that you and your descendents might live!” . . . Deuteronomy 30:19

 

 

Thank You Owen by Rev. Dr. James I. Lamb

Many of you know that I do not hesitate to speak about our grandchildren. We have another, Owen James Lamb, son of Heather and Aaron. Unfortunately, Owen only lived for twenty-one weeks in the womb. He developed a tumor nearly as large as he was that required pre-natal surgery. But the tumor was so invasive and vascular that his little heart finally gave out.

We are thankful for the surgical team who cared for Heather and Owen. They always treated him as the little human person he was. They referred to him as the “baby,” and, when they found out his name, as Owen. He received sedation for his surgery through his mom and was given pain medication directly. He was given meds to try and stabilize his heart. Chest compressions were performed for twenty minutes before giving in to the inevitable.

A nurse washed Owen and placed him in a tiny receiving blanket with one of those little preemie stocking caps on his head. He was brought to Aaron as we waited for Heather to arrive in the recovery room. After a while, he gave our little grandson to me. Owen was as warm as the tears running down our cheeks—and very cute if you don’t mind me saying. I pulled back the blanket a bit and held his little hand. His fingers were very long, slender, and delicate. His legs, too, were quite long. He would have been an NBA star I’m sure.

I have held up the twenty-week Touch of Life fetal model hundreds of times over the years to show high school students seated in an auditorium or pre-school students sitting on a floor. I will never hold it the same way again. Over the years I know I have grown numb to the reality of who that model represents. Thank you, Owen, for bringing that real­ity back to me. Thank you, Owen, for restoring in me a sense of urgency about what we do at Lutherans For Life.

As I was tucking Owen back into his blanket, I had to lift one of his arms to position it properly. I suddenly found myself weeping for other “Owens,” those who had such arms torn from his or her tiny body in an abortion because of a culture that says, “It’s good.” “It’s your right.” “You really have no other choice.” Thank you, Owen, for reminding me again of the horribleness of abortion.

Soon after, one of the doctors came in, put his arm around Aaron, and said, “You know, the guy I believe in knows what it’s like to lose a Son.” Yes, He does! And He knows what it is like to receive a son back through resurrection. Because of that we can all face whatever circumstances in our lives with a living hope (1 Peter 1:3).

I am grateful that the Lord allowed me to touch you, Owen. But please know you touched me in ways that perhaps I will be able to share with you someday in the resurrection. Thank you, Owen.

 

Who so happy as I am, Even now the Shepherd’s lamb?

And when my short life is ended, By His Angel host attended,

He shall fold me to His breast, There within His arms to rest.

(I Am Jesus’ Little Lamb, LSB 740)

 

Death Dinner Parties: People Gather over Dinner to Discuss Dying

by Steven Ertelt | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com

The new craze in the Manhattan social scene isn’t related to the latest cocktail, the newest bar or the next fabulous dance club. Instead, top socialites are gathering together for old-fashioned dinner parties with a new twist:  a conversation about death and dying.

At a Manhattan dinner party, the former CEO of Citigroup Inc. mixed it up with guests at his Fifth Avenue to sip wine and discuss their plans for how they want to go.

From a report:

“I think about it a lot and talk about it very little,” Landauer said to the group, which included a filmmaker, a private school principal, and a professional storyteller. Not to be confused with a macabre parlor game, the evening was conceived to confront real-life issues wrapped up in death and dying that few people like to acknowledge, let alone talk about at a dinner party. Would I want a feeding tube? Does dad want to die at home? What happens to my kids if I die in an accident along with my spouse?

Those questions are getting asked more frequently. Over the past month, hundreds of Americans across the country have organized so-called death dinners, designed to lift the taboo around talking about death in hopes of heading off conflicts over finances and medical care — and avoiding unnecessary suffering at the end of life. It’s a topic that is resonating as baby boomers, born from 1946 to 1964 deal with the passing of their parents, even as they come face-to-face with their own mortality.

About 70 percent of adults don’t have a living will, a legal document detailing the medical interventions they’d want or not want if unable to communicate, according to the Pew Research Center. As many as 30 percent of Americans 65 and older don’t have a will detailing what should happen with their assets, a Pew survey found. If those discussions don’t happen ahead of an illness or death, it can leave family members conflicted over what to do.

Death cafes are popular in Europe, according to Wesley Smith.

 

Learn how Lutherans for Life educate on End of Life issues. We have a booklet “Mercy at Life’s End” written by John T. Pless an Assistant Professor at Concordia Seminary Fort Wayne.

 

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Posted By cmbuuck on November 7, 2013

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, that you and your descendents might live!” . . . Deuteronomy 30:19

 

 

40 Days for Life Vision and Mission

40 Days for Life is a focused pro-life campaign with a vision to access God’s power through prayer, fasting, and peaceful vigil to end abortion.

The mission of the campaign is to bring together the body of Christ in a spirit of unity during a focused 40 day campaign of prayer, fasting, and peaceful activism, with the purpose of repentance, to seek God’s favor to turn hearts and minds from a culture of death to a culture of life, thus bringing an end to abortion.

The physical appearance of people peacefully praying outside the clinic has made a great impression to pro-abortion minded people. Many abortion clinics have closed across America due to this campaign. We pray the abortion clinic on Inwood Drive here in Fort Wayne will close this year.

 

Three Unwanted Children, Would They Have Been Better Off Aborted?

by Deanna Chandler | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com

Imagine that there are three little children: two girls and a boy. They are all unborn, unplanned, and for all purposes, unwanted.

Girl #1 will be the oldest; her mom will have her at only 14 years old. She will grow up neglected, and see things that no little child should see. She will be placed in foster care around the age of 5.

Her little brother will be born two years later, when her mom is 16. He too will be neglected, but he will also be physically abused by some of Mom’s boyfriends. He will grow up with special needs. He is 3 when they are placed in foster care.

Last comes the baby of the family, Girl #2, who is born when her mom is 19. She will not spend much time with her mom, but what little time she does spend will be marked by neglect. She will be placed in foster care before she is even a year old.

All of this sounds pretty horrible, a lot of suffering, a lot of neglect, and little love. Would it be better for these three little children to never have been born? After all, then they would never suffer from neglect, never be hungry, never be hurt, never have to cry themselves to sleep. Many abortion advocates will talk about how it would be better to abort than to bring unwanted children into this world, and would consider the fate of these three children to prove their point.

But this is only half of their story.

They are adopted, all of them at the same time, by two amazing parents. Their parents love and adore them. They do more than just feed and clothe them; they teach them right from wrong, they kiss boo-boos, they take them to Disney World, take them hunting and fishing, teach them to ride a bike, help them with algebra homework, cry as they watch them walk across the state at graduation. They are a family, a close and loving family. And these three little children grow up to be adults.

Girl #1, Stephanie, is a strong, independent military wife, who loves photography and plans to start a family of her own soon.

The boy, Kenneth, loves to read and play video games. He lives on his own and has a steady job.

Girl #2, Deanna, is in law school and just celebrated her fourth wedding anniversary. Girl #2 is me.

This is my family. This is my story. A story that shows that even unplanned children born looking like they have no future still deserve a chance at life. That even unwanted children can be wanted and loved very much. The next time you hear an abortion advocate say “Every Child A Wanted Child,” think of me and my family, and know that there is no such thing as a truly unwanted child.

 

Indiana Right to Life Applauds GAO’s Investigation of Planned Parenthood

Posted by Becky Rogness

Investigation Will Likely Examine How Planned Parenthood Affiliates, Including Indiana and Kentucky, Spend Federal Money.

The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) confirmed this week it is launching an investigation into Planned Parenthood’s use of federal tax dollars. The decision to investigate comes after 69 representatives and senators, including Indiana’s Reps. Todd Rokita (IN-4) and Larry Bucshon (IN-8), requested the GAO to investigate in February.

“We are pleased this independent investigation will take a complete look at how Planned Parenthood is using tax dollars, stated Mike Fichter, President and CEO of Indiana Right to Life. In the fiscal year that ended in June 2012, Planned Parenthood received more than half a billion dollars in taxpayer funding. Considering that Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest abortion provider, doing 333,964 abortions in 2011, it is prudent for the federal government to evaluate exactly how federal dollars are being used by the organization.”

“Furthermore, we expect the local affiliate, Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, to fall under the GAO’s investigation as well. Indiana Planned Parenthood sites average a total of more than 5,000 abortions a year, yet they receive tax dollars. We believe that even if Planned Parenthood is technically barred from applying tax dollars to abortions, the flow of tax dollars frees up other revenue to be spent on supporting and expanding its abortion business.”

“We believe this investigation will provide critical oversight and accountability for U.S. taxpayers at an important time. Just last month, a Texas-based Planned Parenthood affiliate quietly settled a Medicaid fraud case with the government for more than $4 million.”

The GAO investigation will also examine federal funds used by other organizations including the International Planned Parenthood Federation, the Guttmacher Institute, the Sex Information and Education Council of the United States, the Population Council and Advocates for Youth.

Indiana Right to Life’s mission is to protect the right to life, especially of unborn children, through positive education, compassionate advocacy and promotion of healthy alternatives to abortion.

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Posted By cmbuuck on August 6, 2013

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, that you and your descendents might live!” . . . Deuteronomy 30:19

 

Save the 1

Just what does the “Save the 1” really mean? It is the declaration that every life counts, even the ones conceived in rape or incest. It is a fact that that one conceived is one of God’s children created in His image. How can we not defend their lives no matter how conceived? For more information on this concern, please contact Lutherans For Life 432-9189 or Allen County Right To Life 471-1849.

God’s Word tells us “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, that you and your descendents might live!” Deuteronomy 30:19

Are you 100% pro-life, even in cases of rape?

We’ve all heard someone say: “I’m pro-life… except in cases of rape,” or “I’m pro-choice, especially in cases of rape!”

Rape and abortion are wrong for the same reason; they are both violent acts of aggression against another person. If you really care about rape victims, you should want to protect them from the rapist, and from the abortion, and NOT the baby. A baby is not the worst thing which can happen to a rape victim — an abortion is.

See more at:  http://www.savethe1.com/

Racial Injustice: Abortion Kills Thousands of Trayvon Martins Every Year

by John Coats | Columbus, OH | LifeNews.com | 7/17/13 10:08 AM

In Ohio, we lose thousands of Trayvon Martins each year. Regardless of what opinion you may have on the verdict in the George Zimmerman trial, the fact remains that a young African-American male was killed in Florida last year. And any unnatural loss of life is always a tragedy.

As the community reflects on that tragedy, we all have the opportunity to confront the egregious tragedy that disproportionately affects the African-American community daily: abortion.

Black women comprise approximately 8 percent of the population, yet almost 40 percent of all abortions take place in their wombs and on their innocent children. Whether you consider yourself pro-life or pro-choice, you would be sorely remiss to deny that abortion poses a serious crisis within the African-American community.

How do we fight this crisis? The first step is to be honest and to educate the community about it.

The second is to boycott. Approximately 80 percent of Planned Parenthood facilities are located in or near minority communities. This abortion giant has a well-documented history of targeting African-Americans. If we would just not use their services, African-Americans could put the No. 1 provider of abortions out of business.

Thirdly, we must not vote for any candidate who supports or who is supported by Planned Parenthood or its lobby, NARAL Pro-Choice. These candidates do not deserve support from the African-American community if they are willing to stand arm in arm, shoulder to shoulder with this abortion giant.

If we really want to get angry about racial injustice, we have a target and a course of action to take.

LifeNews Note: John Coats is the executive director of Ohio Right to Life.

Five Year Decline in Abortions in Indiana – A Closer Look

Three weeks ago, we first reported that Indiana’s abortion rate dropped for the fifth consecutive year as evidenced by the Indiana State Department of Health’s 2012 Induced Termination of Pregnancy Report. The result is that almost 2,000 fewer unborn children were aborted in 2012 in Indiana compared to 2007. In order to get a closer look at the details of the 2012 stats, we’ve produced an executive analysis that breaks down the numbers and exposes significant gains, trends, and concerns in Indiana. Go to Indiana Right to Life:  http://www.irtl.org/

Did you know?

20% of Indiana abortions are done with RU-486.

59% of women having abortions are 20-29 years-old.

Chemical abortions rose by 7.8% in 2012.

 

Indiana’s policy is making a difference.

Indiana’s vast policy changes during the current five-year decline include better informed consent for women considering abortion, stronger protections against late-term abortions, and tighter accountability standards. New policies signed into law by Governor Pence on May 1, 2013, create tough new restrictions on chemical abortions and establish improved informed consent provisions such as a new state-mandated booklet featuring full-color photos of babies at various stages of development in the womb.

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Posted By cmbuuck on July 12, 2013

Dutch Doctors: Euthanize Disabled Babies, Just Make Sure You Report It

by Wesley J. Smith | Amsterdam, Netherlands | LifeNews.com | 6/21/13

I reported the other day that the Dutch Medical Association (KNMG) now justifies the infanticide of seriously ill and dying babies as a means of ending the parents’ suffering.

Now, we see that the purpose of the new guideline was to induce doctors to report their baby killing to the authorities. From the British Medical Journal report:

The Royal Dutch Medical Association has published professional standards to try to clarify the line between palliative care of terminally ill newborn babies and deliberately killing them. Driving the move is the apparent failure of doctors to report cases of mercy killing of newborn babies to the government’s expert review committee of physicians, lawyers, and ethicists, to which all such cases are meant to be reported.

As with the Dutch policy on euthanasia, doctors who report and adhere to guidelines will not be prosecuted. However, since its launch in 2006 the Central Experts Committee has received only one case involving a newborn baby. Originally up to 20 reports a year were expected

You see, when it comes to doctor-administered death in the Netherlands, what matters is doing the killing visibly, not the fact that babies are being killed.

The report also celebrates how ultra sound has successfully allowed doctors to target babies with spina bifida for eugenic abortion, apparently making infanticide less necessary. This is blatant bigotry against the disabled. Yet, Netherlanders perceive themselves as oh, so compassionate.

Is the Morning After Pill Coming to a Vending Machine Near You?

by Eric Metaxas | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 6/18/13

I seldom get hot under the collar on the air. But a recent decision by the Obama administration has got my dander up.

Last week, the President threw America’s parents and their daughters under a bus. And I’m hopping mad about it—and not just because I have a young daughter of my own.

First, a little history: In 2011, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius overruled the Food and Drug Administration’s request to make the “Plan B One-Step” drug available to all women and girls without a prescription, no matter their age. Plan B is a so-called emergency contraception drug that its maker admits could “inhibit implantation” of a fertilized egg in the womb. Sebelius agreed with the decision to distribute the drug—but insisted girls must be at least fifteen to purchase Plan B One-Step.

Well, that proved too much for federal judge Edward Korman (who is a Reagan appointee, by the way). In a decision that dripped with contempt for those concerned about the impact of the drug on young girls, Korman removed ALL age restrictions on the sale of the drug. He claimed they were “politically motivated” and “scientifically unjustified.” And to add insult to what will surely be many injuries to America’s daughters, the Obama administration has just announced that it will not appeal the judge’s ruling.

Now, if you’re like me, you were somewhere between depressed and outraged in hearing this. My 14-year-old daughter can’t go on a field trip without my permission, but soon she’ll be able to legally buy the morning-after pill without my knowing anything about it. Even 11- and 12-year-old girls will be able to pick up Plan B along with their candy bars and lip gloss at the neighborhood drug store.

What’s next? Selling abortion drugs in junior high vending machines? (“No way!” you say? Well, they’re already in college vending machines. But maybe I’d better not give them any ideas.)

Even President Obama, the most abortion-minded president we’ve ever had, said that there ought to be an age limit on this Plan B. As he noted in 2011, the reason Health and Human Services Secretary Sebelius insisted on an age limit was because “she could not be confident that a 10-year-old or an 11-year-old going to a drugstore should be able . . . to buy a medication that potentially, if not used properly, could have an adverse effect.”

But if the President knows this drug is potentially dangerous, why did he abandon the fight to protect our daughters? Frankly, I’ve known ten-year-olds who haven’t mastered the art of putting the lid back on a tube of toothpaste. And yet Judge Korman and President Obama are going to trust these kids to carefully read the instructions on a potentially dangerous drug, and take it properly? Are they kidding?

Plan B will have another destructive impact—and this, too, will harm our daughters. By law, children and younger teenagers cannot consent to sex; if they’re pregnant, it’s a case of statutory rape—or worse, violent rape. Making Plan B available to young girls gives sexual predators another way to hide what they’ve done from their victims’ parents and doctors—and the police.

The sad reality is that even if there were an age restriction, teens would do what they already do with the purchase of alcohol: Get somebody older to buy the drugs for them. But we ought to be angry at what an arrogant federal government is teaching our kids. The law is a moral teacher, and it’s teaching kids that parents are irrelevant.

You and I live in a time when government is actively undermining the family. We need to fight back. Congress can pass a law insisting that no child under eighteen be allowed access to this drug, and that it be sold only with a doctor’s prescription. Please urge your congressman to sponsor a bill to get this done.

 

Indiana Abortion Rate Drops to Lowest Number Since 1976

NEWS RELEASE: beckyrogness@protectinglife.com – July 2, 2013

New State-Released Data Shows the Abortion Rate Has Fallen for the Fifth Consecutive Year

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Right to Life has analyzed the abortion data that the Indiana State Department of Health released on June 28. The data shows that abortions in Indiana were down 3.3 percent in 2012 from 2011. In 2011, there were 9,112 abortions, but in 2012 there were 304 less, or 8,808 abortions.

The drop marks five consecutive years of decreasing numbers of abortions in the Hoosier state. Abortions have not been under 9,000 a year since 1976. Last year’s abortion total of 8,808 shows a 47 percent decrease since the all-time record number of abortions, 16,505, in 1980.

“We are encouraged by the falling abortion rate, but we recognize that much work remains to be done,” said Mike Fichter, President and CEO of
Indiana Right to Life. “A total of 8,808 abortions means that 8,808 little boys and girls didn’t get a chance to take their first breath. We will continue educating Hoosiers about the real implications of ending a preborn child’s life and about the positive alternatives that exist over abortion.”

The abortion data also shows that chemical abortions continue to rise. From 2011 to 2012, the chemical abortion rate rose 7.8 percent. This data shows that 20 percent of abortions are done using the chemical process.

Fichter commented, “We are troubled by the increase in chemical abortions. Great risks can exist for women choosing chemical abortions, especially if they are experiencing an ectopic pregnancy. With a fifth of all abortions occurring through the chemical process, we’re especially thankful that the General Assembly passed, and Gov. Pence signed, a bill allowing the State Department of Health to provide oversight to chemical abortion facilities.”

The full state report is available at: http://www.state.in.us/isdh/files/2012_induced_termination_of_pregnancy_report.pdf.

Indiana Right to Life’s mission is to protect the right to life, especially of unborn children, through positive education, compassionate advocacy and promotion of healthy alternatives to abortion.

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Posted By cmbuuck on June 29, 2013

Shepherds United will host a traditional marriage rally at the Allen County Courthouse lawn on July 1 at 12:00 p.m. The rally will feature local clergy members speaking on the Biblical, societal and religious liberty implications of governmental attempts to redefine marriage. The rally will also include a reaction to the Supreme Court decision on marriage cases, expected to be handed down the week prior. The Allen County Courthouse lawn is at the corner of S. Clinton St. and E. Berry St. in Fort Wayne, Indiana. For more details visit:  http://shepherdsunited.org/

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